Nicotine effects
How smoking could affect the brains of the young
Adolescents who smoke, bring irreparable damage to their brains. Their concentration decreases and impulsivity increases.
"This could mean that early smoking contributes to the development and attention impulsivity disorders such as ADHD," said Sabrine Nail (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
A university in Amsterdam, examining the effect of nicotine, put rats into a cage whereby lights were installed in five holes.
If a light was burning, the rats had their snouts as quickly as possible through the corresponding hole stabbing. Which yielded a reward. Rats that puberty got nicotine administered, performed 5 to 10 percent worse.
At the time that a lot of attention was requested, then they missed a light, "says researcher Sabine Spijker De Volkskrant. Their concentration was found due to nicotine bloodstream deteriorated their impulsiveness right up
LESS CONCENTRATION
If you would translate this to people, you're talking about young people who start smoking between the twelfth and sixteenth, "says Nail. In later life would be that workers who do it are fine.
But once it becomes extremely difficult sought hooks them off sooner than others. They can not quite keep their attention.
The researchers discovered that nicotine in adolescents leads to a permanent reduction of a specific protein, mGluR2, in the part of the brains that regulate attention and concentration. The protein can be stimulated with drugs, and that can also lead to less attention stimulated, but this only works temporarily.
ADULT BRAINS
All rats that indulged in nicotine in adulthood, had no problems with continuing problems because their brains were already formed. The brains of rats and humans are very similar.
The researchers are therefore comparable effects in humans and cause so addictive substances like nicotine permanent damage to young brains.
But such research does not repeat in humans, for ethical reasons: the young people who would participate in smoking and thus would learn would be a big risk to get addicted to the cigarette.